Government 'disappointed' by ferry challenge

Jersey's government has said it is "disappointed" a ferry company is taking a minister to court over the decision to award the contract for ferry and freight travel to Danish operator DFDS.

Brittany Ferries announced on Monday it was taking Minister for Sustainable Economic Development Kirstin Morel, who was responsible for negotiating ferry services, to court.

Morel awarded the contract to operate Jersey ferry links to DFDS at the start of December.

The government said it respected the court process but that it would be "robustly defending our decision".

It said: "Our priority has always been to ensure that the Channel Islands have the best possible ferry services, and the procurement process showed DFDS are best placed to deliver those services.

"We conducted a full and fair procurement process, the marking and evaluation were independently overseen, and DFDS won the bid by a large and clear margin.

"Jersey needs high-quality, good value, and resilient sea connectivity, and we are determined to deliver it."

The Royal Court has allowed Brittany Ferries a judicial review on two specific areas, with the first being due to Jersey's government not giving sufficient reasons for its concerns about the company's bid in the initial joint tender process.

It also said it should have made been clear to any bidder what concerns there were before the Jersey-only tender process started.

The court accepted a judicial review on apparent bias but said this allegation only just got over the threshold.

The commissioner said the argument the government started a new process with different requirements because it had a predetermination for DFDS was strong enough to meet the criteria for a judicial review.

The government said at a hearing on 20 December the court gave Brittany Ferries permission to challenge "only a limited aspect of our decision-making process by a judicial review" and that "all their other grounds were rejected".

The government said that DFDS was finalising the details of its ferry service schedule for next year, and that it was "already clear that they will be better than the island currently enjoys".

It said: "The last thing islanders need is more uncertainty over ferry services, and we hope Brittany Ferries will respect that.

"We are grateful to Condor for the service it has provided for islanders over the years and we would prefer the relationship not to end on this note."

In October, Guernsey chose Brittany Ferries, Condor Ferries' parent company, to run its sea links.

Jersey choosing a different provider meant the end of Condor Ferries' 60-year history of ferry services to the island.

Hearings are due to take place on 13 and 14 January at the Royal Court to decide the limited ground of the challenge, the government said.

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